Airfield Is In Both The Town And Eureka Township

Airlake Airport (KLVN) in Dakota County, MN is in a somewhat unique position. Some of the land on which the airport is located is in Eureka Township, while some is in the corporate limits of the City of Lakeville.

The airport is owned by the Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC), and that body would like to bring municipal water and sewer services to the airport. The city can provide those services, while the township cannot, according to a report from the Minnesota Star Tribune. So the MAC has proposed a petition to Lakeville to annex 120 acres of the airport property, with plans to obtain another 200 acres in the future.

Gary Schmidt, director of reliever airports for the MAC, said the services are needed to keep the airport viable. He said that tenants at Airlake have been moving to other airports which have better services. Lakeville is very open to the idea of the annexation to help it better promote the Airlake Industrial Park adjacent to the airport. The city would also see a small increase in tax revenue and water and sewer hookup fees, according to Lakeville city administrator Justin Miller.

But at least one member of the Eureka Township Board says the township will lose more than tax revenue if the annexation goes forward. Supervisor Butch Hansen said that the annexation would open the door to the township being completely absorbed by the city.

Lakeville has acquired nine acres of the airport land since 1975. Schmidt said getting water and sewer services to the airport has been a goal for "decades". The township has tried unsuccessfully to add the services on their own, and township supervisor Carrie Jennings said the plans are not feasible.

Hansen said the $30,000 per year it collects in taxes from the airport is crucial to the township budget. Jennings said that the township has exhausted all of its options, and "there's nothing we can do to stop them, in my opinion."

FMI: Original Report